PetSmart Charities® to Visit Location Benefitting from Grant to the Spay-Neuter Action Project

FREE Spay and Neuter for all dogs and cats living in San Ysidro and Otay Mesa in 2018!

PetSmart Charities® to Visit Location Benefitting from Grant to the Spay-Neuter Action Project

Site visit scheduled in area receiving free spays/neuters funded by PetSmart Charities.

San Diego, January 2018 – The Spay-Neuter Action Project of San Diego (SNAP), today announced that PetSmart Charities, the leading funder of animal welfare in North America, will meet with SNAP to tour the Neuter Scooter surgical bus and learn more about how the organization supports local pets in need. The visit will take place at the Otay Mesa-Nestor Library, a clinic site for residents of Otay Mesa and San Ysidro receiving FREE services for companion animals, on Thursday, February 1, starting at 1:00 p.m.

PetSmart Charities recently donated $50,000 to SNAP to provide spay/neuter services in the southern-most part of San Diego county, at an unprecedented, free of charge. The grant will cover the average per surgery cost to SNAP for over 700 companion animals residing in Otay Mesa and newly-added San Ysidro, combined.

SNAP, a registered non-profit organization, formed in 1990 to reduce the number of companion animals euthanized in City and County-run shelters. They are known to be the first organization in San Diego County to address pet overpopulation at its source, by preventing the birth of unwanted litters. Their affordable spay/neuter services are brought directly into communities struggling with chronic pet overpopulation, via mobile clinics. An average of 500 combined cats and dogs are altered each month, by California State licensed veterinarians, with support from credentialed medical assistants. Surgeries are performed in the hospital-grade operating suite located inside SNAPs mobile unit. Over 60,000 companion animals have been altered since 2003.

“We are honored that PetSmart Charities requested a meeting with us while they are in San Diego,” said Dorell Sackett, SNAPs executive director. “We are also honored to have Councilmember David Alvarez, whose District represents Otay Mesa and San Ysidro, Daniel DeSousa, Director of the County of San Diego Department of Animal Services, and Susan Salinas Ramos, Youth Services at the Otay Mesa-Nestor Library, join us for the ‘meet and “greet’ portion of the event,” said Ms. Sackett. Councilmember Alvarez, Mr. DeSousa, and staff at the Otay Mesa-Nestor Library, are long-time supporters of SNAP and partners in the wage against pet overpopulation.

The free spay/neuter clinics for Otay Mesa and San Ysidro, made possible through funding by PetSmart Charities through 2018, are already making a difference for residents in these underserved communities. “Just recently, a resident called to schedule an appointment for one of her three dogs, because she could only pay for one at a time. When she found out that all three dogs could be altered for free, she was in tears,” said Ms. Sackett. Many of the pet owners will be picking up their pets from the Neuter Scooter when the representatives arrive on Feb 1st. PetSmart Charities can meet who their funding is helping first hand. This investment will touch lives in so many ways, from improved quality of life for companion animals to households no longer dealing with mating behaviors and endless litters to a reduction in the number of animals born needlessly. Taxpayers also benefit with less tax dollars going to tracking, treating, housing, and euthanizing in City and County-run shelters in direct correlation to less animals entering the shelter system.

About PetSmart Charities®PetSmart Charities, Inc. is a nonprofit animal welfare organization with a mission to find lifelong, loving homes for all pets by supporting programs and thought leadership that bring people and pets together. In addition to finding homes for almost 500,000 shelter pets each year through its in-store adoption program in all PetSmart stores across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, PetSmart Charities provides funding to nonprofits aligned with its mission through four key areas of grant support: Preventing Pet Homelessness; Helping Shelter Pets Thrive; Supporting the Bond Between People and Pets; and Emergency Relief and Disaster Support. Each year, millions of generous PetSmart shoppers help pets in need by donating to PetSmart Charities using the pin pads at checkout registers inside PetSmart stores. In turn, PetSmart Charities efficiently uses 90 cents of every dollar donated and has become the leading funder of animal welfare in North America, donating about $300 million to date. PetSmart Charities, a 501(c)(3) organization, has received the Four-Star Rating from Charity Navigator, an independent organization that reports on the effectiveness, accountability and transparency of nonprofits, for the past 14 years in a row — placing it among the top one percent of charities rated by this organization. To learn more visit www.petsmartcharities.org